Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display device, and more particularly, to a display device with a reduced bezel width and a method of manufacturing the same.
Discussion of the Related Art
Flat Panel Display (FPD) devices are applied to various electronic products such as portable phones, tablet PCs, notebooks, etc. The FPD devices include Liquid crystal Display (LCD) device, Plasma Display panels (PDPs), and Organic Light Emitting Display (OLED) Device, etc. Recently, Electropohretic display (EPD) devices are widely used as the FPD devices.
In such FPD devices (hereinafter simply referred to as a display device), the LCD devices are being most widely commercialized at present because the LCD devices are easily manufactured due to the advance of manufacturing technology and realize drivability of a driver and a high-quality image.
In such FPD devices, the organic light emitting display devices have a fast response time of 1 ms or less and low power consumption, and have no limitation in a viewing angle because the organic light emitting display devices self-emit light. Accordingly, the organic light emitting display devices are attracting much attention as next generation FPD devices.
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a general display device.
Referring to FIG. 1, the general display device includes a display panel 10 and a panel driver 20. The display panel 10 includes a lower substrate 12 and an upper substrate 14 which are facing-coupled to each other.
The lower substrate 12 may be formed of a glass substrate, but, it may be formed of a thin and flexible substrate such as plastic. The lower substrate 12 includes a display area that includes a plurality of pixels for displaying an image, a non-display area that surrounds the display area, and a pad part that is provided in a peripheral area of one side of the lower substrate 12.
For example, a plurality of gate lines and data lines that define a plurality of pixel areas are formed to intersect each other in the display area, a thin film transistor (TFT) is formed in each area defined by the intersection of a corresponding gate line and data line, and a pixel electrode connected to the TFT is formed in each of the pixel areas. The pad part is provided in the peripheral area of the one side of the lower substrate 12 to be connected to the gate lines and the data lines, and connected to the panel driver 20.
The upper substrate 14 is formed of a thin and transparent substrate such as plastic or glass substrate, and is formed to have an area relatively less than the lower substrate 12. The upper substrate 14 is facing-coupled to a portion of the lower substrate 12 except the pad part of the lower substrate 12 by a coupling member (not shown), which is formed in a closed-loop type, in a non-display area of the lower substrate 12.
An optical film (not shown) may be adhered to a top of the upper substrate 14, in which case the optical film may have an anti-reflection function that prevents polarization and/or reflection of external light.
The panel driver 20 is connected to the pad part of the lower substrate 12, and supplies signals to the gate lines and data lines. To this end, the panel driver 20 may include a flexible circuit board 21, a driving integrated circuit (IC) 23, a control board 25, and a driving circuit part 27.
The flexible circuit board 21 is adhered to the pad part of the lower substrate 12, and bent to a bottom of the lower substrate 12 to surround a side surface of the lower substrate 12.
The driving IC 23 is mounted on the flexible circuit board 21. The driving IC 23 generates data signals and a pixel driving signal for displaying an image on the display panel 10 on the basis of image data and a timing sync signal which are supplied from the control board 25, and supplies them to the pad part.
The control board 25 is adhered to the flexible circuit board 21, and disposed at the bottom of the lower substrate 21. The control board 25 is connected to a main substrate (not shown) that generates image data and the timing sync signal which correspond to an image to be displayed by the display panel 10, and transfers the image data and timing sync signal, which are supplied from the main substrate, to the driving IC 23 through the flexible circuit board 21.
The driving circuit board 27 is mounted on the control board 25, and includes passive elements, such as a resistor, a capacitor, an inductor, and/or an IC. The driving circuit board 27 generates a voltage necessary to drive the display panel 10 and/or the driving IC 23.
The related art flexible display device described above drives the pixels of the display panel 10 according to a driving of the panel driver 20, thereby displaying a desired image on the display panel 10.
However, in the related art flexible display device, the flexible circuit board 21 configuring the panel driver 20 is bent to surround a side surface of the lower substrate 12, and thus, a portion of the flexible circuit board 21 and a bending part 21a are disposed at a side surface of the display panel 10. Therefore, a bezel width W increases due to one side of the lower substrate 12, the portion of the flexible circuit board 21, and the bending part 21a. 